Whistler Still a Hot Winter Spot: British Columbia

A skier heads down the slopes. Photo by Sue Frause.

Ski season is just a flip of the calendar away, and British Columbia’s Whistler has again been touted by Conde Nast Traveler in its November 2006 issue.

A trio of Whistler hotels swept the top three spots in the annual readers’ choice awards for the Top Ten Canadian Resorts: Pan Pacific Mountainside, Four Seasons Resort Whistler and the Westin Resort Whistler placed gold, silver and bronze. The Fairmont Chateau Whistler came in at number six.

Off the slopes, Luxury Spa Finder magazine selected The Spa at Four Seasons Resort Whistler as the “third most loved spa in the world” and for capturing the natural serenity of the mountain wilderness.

Other magazines that have hailed Whistler include:

• SKIING, November 2006 – #1 Ski Resort in North America (10th year in a row);
• TransWorld Snowboarding, October 2006 – #1 Resort;
• Freeskier, November 2006 – #1 Resort;
• SKI, October 2006 – #1 for Terrain/Variety and #2 for Lodging and Apres;
• Luxutry Travel (Australia), Summer 2006 – Best Overseas Ski Resort; and
• Forbes Traveller – #1 Ski Resort in North America.

The official opening day at Whistler Blackcomb is Thursday, November 23, 2006 and the snowfall record has already been broken –– 10 feet for the opening and it continues to snow.

Tourism Whistler has a number of packages including the Stay Free, Ski Free, Monday’s Free package. Book a minimum four-night package that includes a Monday and receive a free ski pass and free accommodations on the Monday of your stay (some blackout dates apply). For more information, call 1-800-WHISTLER or book online at Tourism Whistler.

If you’re a non-downhiller like me, no worries. Whistler has a menu of other winter activities including snowshoeing, Ziptrekking, sleigh rides or riding up a chair lift for stunning views and yummy food (I took the photo of the skier above from one of the lifts). And then there’s shopping, spa-ing and dozens of cool restaurants and bars in Whistler Village for dining or just hanging out and soaking up the winter fun.